Roche just delivered the diabetes readout it promised for year-end — early. On September 22, the company reported that its dual GLP-1/GIP agonist enicepatide (CT-388) cut HbA1c by 2.65 percentage points and body weight by 15.5% at 48 weeks in adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. Sixty-two percent of the top-dose group finished with blood sugar in the fully non-diabetic range.
This is the second major Phase 2 win for the molecule in four months, after the 22.5% placebo-adjusted weight loss it posted at ADA 2026 in people without diabetes. Here is what the new data says, how it stacks up against the tirzepatide numbers, and what it means if you are sourcing incretin peptides today.
The News: What Roche Reported
The data come from CT-388-104 (NCT06628362), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 dose-finding trial that enrolled 447 adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity across four enicepatide dose arms plus placebo, dosed once weekly for 48 weeks (Roche press release, September 22, 2026).
At the highest dose, 24 mg once weekly:
| Metric (24 mg, 48 wk) | Result |
|---|---|
| HbA1c reduction (from 8.1% baseline) | −2.65 percentage points |
| Reached HbA1c ≤6.5% (below diabetes threshold) | 90% |
| Reached HbA1c <5.7% (non-diabetic range) | 62% |
| HbA1c reduction in poorly controlled subgroup (baseline >8.5%) | −4.13 points |
| Body weight reduction | 15.5%, no plateau by week 48 |
The trial met both primary endpoints. Safety tracked the known incretin profile: gastrointestinal side effects were the most common and mostly mild to moderate, and 2.0% of enicepatide participants discontinued for adverse events versus 0% on placebo — a notably low dropout for this efficacy level. Roche reported no new safety signals (Healio, September 23, 2026).
"Enicepatide offers a potential best-in-disease profile capable of reducing and preventing complications," said Levi Garraway, Roche's chief medical officer, in the announcement.
Why the Diabetes Numbers Matter More Than They Look
Weight loss drugs routinely underperform in diabetic populations — insulin resistance blunts the response, which is why every incretin drug posts smaller numbers in type 2 diabetes trials than in obesity-only trials. Semaglutide dropped from ~15% (STEP 1) to 9.6% (STEP 2, type 2 diabetes). Tirzepatide dropped from ~22.5% (SURMOUNT-1) to 15.7% (SURMOUNT-2).
Enicepatide posting 15.5% in a diabetic population at only 48 weeks — without plateauing — puts it at the top of that adjusted curve. And the glycemic side is arguably the stronger result: 62% of participants reaching normoglycemia means most of the top-dose arm ended the trial with blood sugar indistinguishable from someone without diabetes. That puts most of the top-dose arm in the nondiabetic blood-sugar range by week 48 — the profile Roche will carry into its cardiovascular outcomes program.
What This Means for You
The practical reality is unchanged from June: enicepatide is not buyable and will not be for years. No research-peptide vendor stocks it, and Roche's own timeline — Phase 3 glycemic and cardiovascular trials starting H1 2027 — points to approval no earlier than 2028-2029.
What the trial does is add a second independent confirmation of what the dual GLP-1/GIP receptor pair can do — a mechanism sold today as tirzepatide, and as one of three targets in retatrutide's design. Neither is FDA-approved in research-peptide or compounded form; vendors sell them labeled for research purposes, not as diabetes or weight-loss treatments. Current vendor pricing on the compounds in this mechanism family:
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- Best tirzepatide vendors — the same dual GLP-1/GIP receptor pair, available now
- Best retatrutide vendors — the GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple agonist with the highest trial weight loss to date
- Best semaglutide vendors — the original GLP-1 benchmark
- All vendor coupons and deals — current discounts across recommended vendors
For sourcing walkthroughs, our tirzepatide buying guide and retatrutide buying guide compare vendors on price per mg, COA verification, and active coupons.
